Monday, March 30, 2015

by Jay Beaumont, PE, Former Groundwater Foundation Board Member and Orange County, New York Groundwater Guardian

In October of 2002, Jennifer of the Groundwater Foundation
staff called me to ask if I would give an invocation at the Awards Luncheon at
the upcoming Groundwater Guardian Conference.
As I flew to the conference from New
York, I didn’t have any ideas for my invocation. On the plane I was reading Cradle to
Cradle by William McDunough and Michael Braungart. That is where I found the perfect story for
my invocation.

“Kai Lee, a professor of
environmental science at WilliamsCollege, tells an
enlightening story about native peoples’ view of place. In 1986 Lee was involved in plans for the
long-term storage of radioactive wastes at the Hanford Reservation, a large site
in

Jay Beaumont and Susan Seacrest at the 2000 Groundwater Foundation National Conference.

central WashingtonState, where the United States government had
produced plutonium for nuclear weapons.
He spent a morning with scientists discussing how to make a waste site
so that even in the distant future, people would not accidentally drill for
water there or otherwise bring about harmful exposures and releases. During a break he saw several members of the
Yakima Indian Nation, whose traditional lands include much of the Hanford
Reservation. They had come there to talk
with federal officials about another matter.
The Yakima
were surprised -- even amused – at Kai’s concern over their descendents’
safety. ‘Don’t worry,’ they assured
him. ‘We’ll tell them where it is.’ As Kai pointed out to us, ‘Their conception
of themselves and their place was not historical, as mine was, but
eternal. This would always be their
land. They would warn others not to mess
with the waste we’d left.’”

I shared that story in my invocation and added that the
story and other conference speakers’ themes give the good guidance for our work
to protect groundwater.

Make
our conception of the earth and its resources eternal not historical.

Monday, March 23, 2015

by Susan Seacrest, Groundwater Foundation founder and President Emeritus

Three traditions come to mind as I reflect on the
Groundwater Foundation’s 30 year history: dedication, adaptability, and
innovation.

Early on, with virtually no resources except the idea that
citizens needed to learn more about the nature and value of groundwater,
putting together everything was a challenge.
A wonderful young woman, Sandy Steele, volunteered typing services and
even came to the hospital in 1986 so I could do some proof reading while holding
the newborn Kelly Seacrest!

The dedicated Lori Davison volunteered her dining room for
several years as a home for piles of documents and correspondence. Lori’s table
and typewriter were indispensable as we developed early Foundation projects, including the
literal cutting and pastingof the
Foundation’s quarterly publication, The
Aquifer.

Lori’s dining room doubled as childcare center as her
toddler and baby romped around with my toddler and baby while we tried to focus
on the work at hand. Happily, Lori
continues to this day as the Foundation’s Data Manager.

Countless rounds of retyping gave way to an IPM Selectric
with self correcting ribbon, followed by a DOS computer we never really understood
very well. In the 1990s, email and
Windows were begrudgingly adapted by this digitally and electronically challenged
writer.

A salute is due to
the amazing and talented Jane, Cindy, Jennifer, Doug and countless others who have
brought smart phone apps, social media, and webinars to the Foundation’s
growing audience.Everyone associated
with the Foundation as it rounds its 30th Anniversary deserve a
salute for continuing the dedicated service, creative adaptations, and
innovative programs that are hallmarks of the Groundwater Foundation’s history
and future!

The stories will be those of our partners, constituents, and our own memories. As we celebrate the past 30 years of groundwater protection and education, we'll look to the future - it's just the beginning!

Thursday, March 12, 2015

By Jessica Wheeler, The Groundwater FoundationDid you know that a leaky faucet dripping one drip per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons a year? That's a lot of water and money down the drain! But don't worry, many leaks in the home can be taken care of with quick, easy fixes that will help keep your water bill down and conserve water. Mark your calendars, March 16-20 is National Fix a Leak Week!

Here are a few quick tips for fixing leaks around your home:

Fix leaky faucets by replacing washers and gaskets

Use pipe tape and a wrench to fix a leaky showerhead

If you have a leaky toilet, check to see if the flapper needs replaced

If your garden hose is leaking at the spigot, replace the rubber hose washer

Check out the Environmental Protection Agency's website for more information on fixing leaks in your home!

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Water use in the bathroom accounts for a large percentage of
our daily consumption. There are countless resources and recommendations on how
to lower your bathroom water use. You should turn the water off when you’re
brushing your teeth, let mellow if it’s yellow and of course, shorten your
shower time.

But how do you go from taking a 20 minute shower to a 5
minute shower? This can be really difficult if you are like me and like the
feel of a long hot shower. So I said to myself, what is an interesting way to
incrementally shorten my showers so it doesn’t seem so daunting.

I took four of my favorite songs and made a playlist. I set up
my phone, in a cup to amplify the sound, outside the shower and started the
playlist before I turned the water on. Then every other shower, I took one of
the songs off the playlist and made sure that I was out of the shower before
the last one ended.

I am now down from 20 minutes to about 7 minutes per shower. I also made a couple more playlists for variety and different moods I want to be in, like going to bed and waking up.Share what makes you sing in the shower in the comments or at our Facebook page, The Groundwater Foundation